Malta’s ‘newest MP’ is a 17-year-old parliament TV aficionado

He loves politics and avidly follows parliament TV. This is Nevan Azzopardi, a 17-year-old, who briefly joined parliament’s ranks on Tuesday afternoon.

Azzopardi sat in parliament with MPs after being invited by Inclusion Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli to accompany her for this afternoon’s session.

Azzopardi’s long-held wish to enter parliament failed to materialise during the Notte Bianca event since he did not have his ID card on him on the night. 

He got to fulfil his wish today after Farrugia Portelli asked permission to have Azzopardi accompany her for part of the session.

Speaker Anglu Farrugia introduced Azzopardi before parliamentary question time started and the young man sat on the green chairs alongside the MPs.

For the first time, Azzopardi followed proceedings live from inside the chamber he normally gets to see on television.

The voting age in Malta was reduced to 16 for all elections in 2018 and the March general election was the first parliamentary election in which young people this age could vote. They had previously voted in the 2019 European Parliament election.

But it seems that Azzopardi’s ambitions are more than just being able to vote. Who knows whether he will acquire the title ‘onorevoli’ sometime in the future?